


C vs. C vs. C

by interstellar_burst



Category: Lizzie Bennet Diaries
Genre: Friendship, Future Fic, Gen, Little Sisters, Mild Language, Post-Series, Siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-05
Updated: 2013-07-05
Packaged: 2017-12-17 18:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/870669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interstellar_burst/pseuds/interstellar_burst
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Occasionally, her insecurity got the better of her. She wasn't like Lizzie and her sisters, inclined to believe everything would sort itself out as long as they were true to themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	C vs. C vs. C

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Curled and Wounded](https://archiveofourown.org/works/756240) by [neithersaintnorsinner](https://archiveofourown.org/users/neithersaintnorsinner/pseuds/neithersaintnorsinner). 
  * Inspired by [The Most Important Part of My Life](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/24190) by NotAContrivance. 



Charlotte Lu downed the dregs of her third martini, and was thoroughly enjoying it despite being aware that the very idea of having a _second_ glass was questionable. This was a fancy rich people party, and they did not serve hooch at fancy rich people parties. Add to that the fact that Charlotte hadn't had a serious tolerance for alcohol since college and she was now feeling not a little bit buzzed.

She needed the first glass, though. This shindig was too much like being back at Collins & Collins, and although there were different sets of people, it was unavoidable that a room full of the moneyed would make Charlotte feel like she was once again at an investors' soirée, finagling and flattering away every dollar that she could get. 

Charlotte grunted in frustration as she belatedly realized the second martini would only delay her getaway. She had driven her own car to get to Netherfield. 

"Okay, there, Charlotte?" She felt a light touch at her elbow, and turned to see Lizzie with a somewhat amused look on her face. 

"You didn't tell me Catherine de Bourgh was going to be here," Charlotte replied, trying not to hiss.

"Not my invite list, is it?" Lizzie nodded in the direction of the group hobnobbing outside on the deck. As if bidden, the crowd parted to reveal Caroline Lee, her perfect hair glistening in the light. She threw her head back to laugh, exposing equally perfect teeth, and Charlotte could swear that she and Lizzie rolled their eyes in coordination. 

"You'd think Jane would have more sense. Half the neighborhood already left. The Gibsons looked so terrified when Ally started throwing a tantrum." 

"Shhh, shhh." Lizzie looked around, presumably for her sister or said sister's fiancé. "We've got something smaller, more informal in a couple days. At the park. The Gibsons said they would come, I think."

Charlotte grumbled. She was going to start complaining to Lizzie about why she had to come to this one in the first place, but she held off. For Jane Bennet's sake, she would endure a stuffy party.

One that was strictly divided, it seemed. 

The Lees - or more accurately, the doctors Lee and Caroline - were holding court outdoors. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were entertaining friends from their neighborhood in Longbourne in the middle of what fashionable architecture magazines called a great room. 

Jane and Bing had spent the better part of the last few hours shuttling between the two sets of guests. It was exhausting to watch. She didn't blame them if their current absence meant that they had decided to elope. 

Charlotte fiddled with the toothpick in her glass. She wasn't exactly one of the guests who was making the socializing easier. Bing began the first round of introductions, and Charlotte, being late, hadn't much time to collect herself before Catherine de Bourgh was suddenly back in her face. She was clutching her bloody rat of a dog and looking like she just smelled car exhaust. 

Bing had the good grace to say, "I'm sure Charlotte doesn't need to be introduced" in a hopeful, needy way as if he was willing the older woman to react politely.

No such luck.

"Ms. Lu," she had said, drawling out the last syllable. She then gave a curt nod and walked on. Bing barely had enough time to shoot her a confused, sympathetic look before hurrying to introduce the next person in the line of fire.

Charlotte thus spent the rest of her night trying to avoid Catherine.  

"Do you want me to get you home, give your dad the car keys?" Lizzie smiled, took away the empty martini glass. Charlotte was receptive, but glanced at her parents. She shook her head. 

"Are you certain? It's no trouble." Darcy's voice emerged behind Lizzie. 

Charlotte winced. She'd come to accept that Lizzie and Darcy were now a package deal, but she still wasn't used to it. Now the man had probably heard her hissing about his aunt in a semi-drunk state. She looked away from Darcy to her parents, who were chatting quietly with their neighbors on the couches.  

"My dad will probably drive, but I don't think they'd want me to head out without them." She sighed. "Just ... food. I need to sober up." She was about to walk past them to the buffet table when Darcy signaled for her to stay where she was. 

"I've got it. Anything in particular you'd like?" Caught off guard, Charlotte muttered something about egg rolls and Lizzie added cream puffs and salmon mousse.  

Darcy ended up bringing a tray full of the little, elegant appetizers. Lizzie gave him a kiss while Charlotte smiled around fried pastry dough. After a bit, Lydia walked by and narrowed her eyes at them: "Get away from the wall and help us out with the old folks, nerds." Then she stole an appetizer. 

Even Lizzie had the decency to look abashed. She and Darcy reluctantly stepped towards the table holding the selection of drinks, but Charlotte hung back, thinking she could procure a bottle of water from the kitchen.  

She was about to duck under some cupboards when she heard the clacking of heels coming closer. She turned, and Catherine appeared, clutching her own empty glass. Without thinking about it, Charlotte stiffened. This was the first time she had been alone with Catherine de Bourgh since her resignation.

"Ms. Lu," Catherine acknowledged her. "I hope everything is going well in Los Angeles."

"They are, Ms. De Bourgh," Charlotte answered through only slightly gritted teeth. The other woman sniffed. 

"I hope they haven't got you stuck in an adjunct position." Charlotte tried not clench her hands.

"I'm not teaching, Ms. De Bourgh. I'm working full-time at the UCLA Film and Television Archive while I get through the MFA." Not teaching - yet. A few of the faculty were more than impressed with Charlotte's work on "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries". Combined with her experience at Collins & Collins, they hinted at the possibility of Charlotte becoming a faculty member at the digital media program once she finished her degree.

None of it was guaranteed, though, so she resisted the urge to throw it in Catherine's face. 

"At least your loan debt will be minimal for this degree. I'd hate for you to become saddled with debt from three programs."

"Actually, I discharged a lot of my debt while I was working at Collins & Collins." Well, technically, she still had a ways to go for the undergraduate loan, but the aborted graduate school loan that came with a much higher interest rate was nearly paid off.

"Well, I certainly wish you luck," Catherine said, implying no such thing. "I didn't think well-paying tech leadership positions were so thick on the ground that someone like _you_ could afford to _reject_ it."

If the phrasing had an intended affect, it was successful. Out of the corner of her eye, Darcy was making his way from the drink table towards the kitchen. Charlotte clenched her jaw.  

"Thank you for the concern for my well-being, but I can assure you everything is fine. Though perhaps I don't have a private car shuttling -"

"Catherine!" Instead of Darcy, however, there was the sticky sweet voice of Caroline Lee. She'd come bearing an empty tray. "I really _must_ insist that you go back outside. Dr. Mariner is considering jettisoning the Amalfi coast for Norway and you must convince him otherwise. The man is recovering from heart surgery, but he is likely to try hiking the fjords just the same." Caroline directed the last sentence to Charlotte and smiled as if she, too, would know that the Amalfi coast was the superior choice. Charlotte shut her mouth so as not to look like a fish.

"Now, Catherine, first let me get a drink, because I've been spending the last few minutes trying to get Hunter to consider diversifying his stock options. He's still too young for such a conservative portfolio, but he won't hear of it. He needs to make an appointment with our man in New York. Do you still keep in touch with Colin Drexel? Perhaps if you put in a good word for him ..." Caroline hooked her hand over the other woman's elbow and led her out of the kitchen. After one last disapproving look towards Charlotte, Catherine allowed herself to be led away.

Charlotte let out a breath. She took a turn in the kitchen and found the door to the pantry. She allowed a moment to notice that the pantry space was probably the size of her actual kitchen in Los Angeles before she snagged a bottle of Fiji water from a large stack on the floor.

When she closed the door, she saw Darcy at the edge of the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow. 

Charlotte grinned sheepishly and shrugged, hoping to not have to talk about it. Being the only family of Catherine de Bourgh didn't entitle him to answer for everything she said and did. She was gratified when Darcy turned on his heels and returned to the Bennets' group.

She felt rather selfish sneaking out of the front door, but she couldn't really mingle while she was still agitated. Not to mention, she needed to take the edge off her buzz. Being drunk and angry at Jane Bennet's engagement party in a room filled with their families and friends was not advisable.

Occasionally, her insecurity got the better of her. She wasn't like Lizzie and her sisters, inclined to believe everything would sort itself out as long as they were true to themselves. Her decision to leave a position that put her in a path to being comfortable for the rest of her life felt like a betrayal of her family.

_"That's fucking idiotic." Maria's voice was exasperated, harsh. She was prepping for winter finals of her last year at the UC and didn't have time to be nice. "You've been unhappy for a while. Besides, you still have to apply for the damn job. Just do it and see what happens."_

_"But ... I won't be able to get Mom and Dad a house." Maria laughed a belly laugh at this one._

_"I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were working for the next Steve Jobs."_

_"You know what I mean!"_

_"I know," Maria's voice softened. "Maybe mom and dad won't understand, but they're worried about you in Hunsford. They barely see you, and when they do, you don't even want to talk about what's going on, like you literally don't care about what you're doing ... or anything else, really."_

So it was that Charlotte Lu was hired to manage media and marketing for the UCLA Film and TV Archive, and shortly thereafter applied and was accepted into their Master's program in Film and Digital Media.  

Charlotte took a sip of water and contemplated that she was at least glad not to have to prep the umpteenth installment of Game of Gourds.  

She heard more heels, and was fully prepared to dash when Caroline Lee appeared from around the side of the house, rummaging in her clutch and cursing under her breath. She emerged with a shiny rectangular object and noticed Charlotte.

"Oh, sorry, I'll just --"

"No, it's ok. You don't have to leave."

"Well," Caroline dug into her purse again and waved a packet of cigarettes around. "You may want me to."

"It's fine. I can stand it." Caroline shrugged and stood a ways next to her. She shoved a cigarette to her lips and pulled the lighter to it. She took a long drag before remembering to offer one to Charlotte.

Charlotte shook her head, trying not to fixate on the puff of smoke. This was the first time she was alone with her since their passive-aggressive confrontation in Lizzie's video diary at Collins & Collins; she was disconcerted by this version of Caroline, who seemed less than composed and camera-ready.

"I'm trying to quit. This is only my second one today," she said, as if reading her mind.  

"No patch?" Caroline shrugged.

"Not really quitting that way." Charlotte bit back a smile. Trust Caroline Lee to be a snob about nicotine patches.

"Thanks, by the way, for -- in the kitchen --" 

"Don't worry about it. Catherine is so predictable it's no longer a challenge."

"'It'?"

"Keeping Catherine from putting her foot in her mouth, or at least mitigating the damage."

"Hmmm." Charlotte could not help observing the irony of Caroline Lee trying to keep someone else from embarrassing snob behavior. 

They were silent for a few moments, surrounded by insect noises and the occasional distant engine. 

"It's only because she liked you, you know." Charlotte turned to the other woman.

"What?"

Caroline flicked her cigarette and ash floated to the ground.

"Well, _liked_ is perhaps a tad strong." A drag. "There aren't too many women managing tech companies." More ash on the ground. 

Charlotte was a bit shocked. Suddenly the years of haranguing from Catherine de Bourgh made sense. Also, she'd given more than a month's notice, personally trained the incoming interim division head, and tried to get as much documentation down as possible. Catherine was still a pill. 

"She tends to be harder on the people she thinks have the most potential." Charlotte nodded, not trusting herself to say something less than snarky and biting. Caroline had no reason to lie about this and she would be one of the few people intimate enough with Catherine de Bourgh's feelings, in the few cases where she had them.

It was a nice thought, if true, although profoundly self-absorbed in a way that was purely Catherine.

"How long are you in town?" Charlotte wanted to stop thinking about Collins & Collins for the moment.

"I drive back to L.A. on Tuesday afternoon, after the Bennets' party." Charlottes face must have betrayed her because Caroline rolled her eyes. "Yes, not only do I know about it, I'm also invited."

"But what about -"

"This?" Caroline waved her clutch at the house. "Jane wanted me to organize it for her, although Bing was less than enthused." 

"But - but - why?" This awful party didn't seem like the kind of thing Jane would even think of. "Jane doesn't know half the people here." Caroline shrugged.

"I think she thought my parents would be more comfortable with this than something ... too casual." From the way Caroline said it, 'casual' to the Lees was probably a code word for something else. "She's right, of course. It's not enough to have a happy son, you've got to paper over the fact that he's happy eating in dirty parks, happy working for less than fifty grand, happy living in a closet in Brooklyn, _happy, happy, happy_." 

Caroline took another long drag as Charlotte stared at her in amazement. She couldn't tell if she was annoyed at her parents or jealous of her brother.

Voices, accompanied by giggling, reached to where Charlotte and Caroline stood in front of the entrance. Charlotte expected to make a run for it, but Caroline calmly put out the cigarette with her heel and stood her ground. Her face arranged itself into a world-class smirk before the heads of Bing and Jane appeared above the steps, looking disheveled and a little tired.

"Caroline! And ... Charlotte?" Bing acknowledged them with some incredulity when they reached level ground. 

"Have a good walk?" Caroline raised an eyebrow, and Charlotte recognized the needling little sister pose she often got from Maria. Curious to see how Jane was reacting, she was surprised to see a small smile, and not a particularly embarrassed one at that. Instead, she seemed rather expectant. 

"Yep." Charlotte observed that she had never seen Bing Lee smug. "Got the ice for ya." To Caroline's imperious face he presented a bag full of ice. Jane covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. 

"Aww, come on, C, you know I wouldn't leave you hanging." Bing dropped the ice, gathered his sister in his arms, and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. When he let go, Charlotte could see that Caroline's face had softened. "Thank you for the party, by the way. And," Bing paused, "You'd better knock it off with those cigarettes." He pulled her hair and Caroline yelped.

Jane chided him softly, but Caroline merely smacked him on the forearm.

"Idiot. Walk through the back door to the kitchen with that. Jane, make sure he doesn't just plop it down somewhere, all the drinks need fresh ice." Bing had already started walking away with the ice, whistling, and Caroline gave Jane a pleading look.

"I'll tell one of the catering staff." To Charlotte's shock, Jane reached out and enveloped the other woman in another hug. The ease was echoed by Caroline, who returned the hug with almost as much affection as she returned Bing's.

"Thanks for doing this, Caroline. I'll get you into Marc Jacobs next year even if I have to smuggle you into a garment bag." Caroline laughed. "Char can tell you. She and Lizzie sneaked into Parsons at one point." 

Jane let go of Caroline and and gestured towards the house. "You guys coming back in?" Caroline shook her head.

"I need a break, too." Jane nodded.

"As long as you need. Bing and I will make the rounds." Jane turned to Charlotte.

"Um, yeah, right behind you."

"Ok." Jane smiled sweetly and turned to open the front entrance. When she was back inside, Charlotte became aware that she was being scrutinized.

"Lizzie sees what Lizzie sees. You of all people should know that." .

Charlotte held up her hands in mock surrender. She supposed that, through Bing, Caroline and Jane would have gotten over their issues in a way that Lizzie and Caroline never would. But then again, Jane wasn't the losing end of the triangle.

Feeling inspired, Charlotte dug in her bag for a spare business card.

"You seem fun, Caroline Lee," Charlotte said encouragingly. "If you ever feel the need to complain about our mutual acquaintances, I'm game." As she scrawled her cell phone number across the card, she thought that it might be nice to invite Caroline to one of the executive board functions hosted by the Archive. Its newest member was a Harvard MBA who happened to love the movies. He was ridiculously tall and wore Hugo Boss.

Caroline looked at the outstretched card suspiciously. 

"I don't need your pity, Charlotte Lu."

"Oh, for _fuck's_ sake, that's not -- _Caroline_. The UCLA Film and Television Archive needs supporters. I'm supposed to give my card to people with money."

Caroline's face changed to one of elegant noblesse, and Charlotte bit back another urge to roll her eyes. Of course, where most people would take this as an insult, Caroline Lee takes it as a compliment instead. She accepted the card and dug her own out of her purse.

"Here you go." She flipped her hair, and turned to walk down the steps. "Now I'm off ... " 

"Fucking rich people," Charlotte muttered as she turned back to the house. They were all crazy. Darcy, Bing, Catherine -- and Caroline. Her associations with these people seemed to yield nothing but drama. It was almost enough to make her reconsider being jealous of their money.

She opened the front door and the slight noise of conversation greeted her again. But before she could steel herself to rejoin the other guests, Lizzie rounded the corner of the wall and approached her. 

"Char? Will said you had ... _words_ ... with Catherine." Lizzie looked a combination of worried and amused.

"She lives," Charlotte waved off Lizzie's concern and smiled. "As do I."

**Author's Note:**

> First attempt at fan fiction. All feedback welcome. 
> 
> Inspired by neithersaintnorsinner's Caroline in "Curled and Wounded" and NotAContrivance's Charlotte in "The Most Important Part of My Life" [ff.net].
> 
> UPDATE: A few edits here and there, mostly to clarify the setting.


End file.
